Lol! They def have to learn how to be the man the hens want & accept. I also learned through hatching under a broody that he has favorites too. One of our prettiest hens is not one he likes! None of her eggs were fertilized. 🤷🏼♀️
I tried using the bucket traps, but it was clear even if we caught one, the rats are too big for the buckets (they just knock them over), or the squirrels were knocking them over, if it wasn’t the rats.
Yes!! This is my problem too. Rats! I can close up known entrances to them, but I don’t want them stuck in there when I do it! (My husband also bought me a high-powered pellet gun! Such a good hubby. 🥰)
I was thinking I could maybe spray a bunch of DE in their nesting area (it isn’t very large...
We got 4 chicks yesterday, into last night!! 🥰 I’m in love!! One was not viable- chick soup with a huge air bubble.
Gonna have to figure out the logistics going forward, navigating the flock dynamics & predators. I’m gonna have to figure it out along the way. For now I’m just trying to make...
How long did you keep mamma & babies in the kennel? Did you have them pip in the coop, or elsewhere, and then put them in the kennel? How big was the kennel? I have that setup now, although I need to add the hardware cloth. Did you ever have ant problems after they pipped? That’s my main concern...
I’m wondering, will she be treated differently by the other hens when she has chicks?
I let her out when the other chickens were out today & one of our hens attacked her. 🤔 She put up a fight but she is one of my smallest hens.
I LOVE this!! I saw her today, chasing off squirrels! I always wondered why our chickens were fine with squirrels eating their scratch. Today she was not okay with it. I pulled her off the nest to make sure she drank, ate, pooped & bathed today. She was especially spicy! I love it. She has...
Yes! Any eggs not hatching after 21 days should be suspect. I have 5 eggs right now under our broody. They are all the same development because I put 9 eggs under her at the same time. Any new eggs, I removed.
You have to mark them, so you know which eggs are your hatching eggs & which ones are...
Update: I candled the eggs for the second time last night. These two eggs were definitely not developing further. One did for prob a couple days more. I got rid of both eggs. One stank & the other did not. I think it was the thin egg shell that was the problem. The 5 eggs that are left are...
Yes!! I’ve seen black racer snakes in our garden, but we really don’t have snails or slugs here, that I’ve seen. We had a ton in California.
Any natural garden pest eater is a friend of mine. 🙏🏻❤️🥰
Exactly what I was thinking. Plus, I’ve noticed the wood attracts other predators of pests, like frogs & lizards. Our garden enclosure is full of frogs & lizards. I can only imagine how many pests all those little guys eat in our garden. I have to watch for frogs when I’m harvesting greens. They...
Thank you! Definitely good to keep in mind. They were foraging for perlite & fruit tree fertilizer before. 😁 I might remove the wood once the young trees are big enough.
They still forage around the bottom of the trees, but they can’t scratch up the mulch to reveal the soil & young roots now.
We live in Florida. I counted about 10 different pollinators last year! Bees of all different sizes, shapes & colors, and butterflies (although, depending on the plant, the butterflies & moths can be quite destructive).
It’s a good idea! For some plants I would certainly consider this! 👍🏻❤️
Yes!! 👍🏻 A large wood pile could def attract rodents. But I think the way I set them up, they would be a bit too exposed for their liking… To rain, sun & my cat! 😋
Plus we water once a week when it’s not raining. So it’s likely not dry enough for them either.
That’s a cool option, but our fruit trees are too big for these. Plus I want pollinators to be able to get to their flowers.
This would be cool for smaller plants, for sure! 👍🏻